LAFC at St. Louis CITY SC
Wednesday, May 15 at 5:30pm PT
Location: CITYPARK - St. Louis, MO 🏟
TV: Apple TV – MLS Season Pass 🖥
Radio: 710 AM ESPN 📻, ESPN LA App 📱, KFWB 980 AM La Mera Mera 📻
After a dominant, 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday night, LAFC faces another quick turnaround as it travels to take on St. Louis CITY SC on Wednesday at CITYPARK.
Denis Bouanga’s three assists to teammates Cristian Olivera (two goals) and Mateusz Bogusz lifted the Black & Gold to 5W-4L-3D in MLS play and fifth place in the Western Conference with 18 points through 12 matches played.
Wednesday’s matchup will be the third all-time meeting between the two clubs. In 2023, STL’s first season in MLS, LAFC defeated the expansion side 3-0 in Los Angeles, then played St. Louis to a 0-0 draw in September.
St. Louis in-depth
Led by head coach Bradley Carnell, STL is looking to build on their successful inaugural season as the club finished atop the Western Conference standings before dropping its best-of-three playoff series against Sporting Kansas City.
CITY comes in undefeated in its last five matches and owns an overall record of 3W-1L-7D in MLS play - good for ninth place in the Western Conference. The club’s lone loss came on March 30 to current conference leaders Real Salt Lake.
Brazilian Designated Player João Klauss, who led the club with 10 goals in 2023, is again pacing the team with five this year.
The Black & Gold Can Win If:
It can manifest its home identity on the road. LAFC is 1W-4L-1D away from BMO Stadium across all competitions this year, in stark contrast to its undefeated home record (5W-0L-2D). LAFC’s first road win of 2024, a 3-1 victory in the U.S. Open Cup last week in Las Vegas, was due in large part to the efforts of forward Cristian Olivera, who netted two second-half goals in that match and has scored five goals in LAFC’s last three games. Continuing his hot form will not be easy against a St. Louis defense that has allowed just four goals in six home matches in 2024.
St. Louis Can Win If:
It extends its run of good form at home. The club has yet to lose a match in 2024 at CITYPARK (3W-0L-3D), where Klauss has scored four of his five goals. CITY SC will likely come out in a 4-2-3-1 formation with the big Brazilian striker up top and play its customary physical, direct style, pressing and trying to force the visitors into making mistakes.
